How do you remove a wd-40 stain on slate?

Question

The stain is on a slate patio surface with too much wd-40 spilled on it causing the slate to stain. We tried some warm, soapy water and that helped a bit but it still has a stain/discoloration. We don't want to do anything that would make the stain worse. Help!

Answer 1

If you don't have any corn starch, try using baby or talcum powder.

Pour the powder on the stain to a depth of about 1/4", put a paper towel over it and then weight it down with something VERY heavy.

Let it sit for a couple of hours.

After the time is up, lift the heavy object and the paper towel and check the powder... if it's still fluffy and flyaway, the stain has penetrated too far for it to be sucked out.

But if the powder has turned clumpy and slightly damp, congrats! Wipe away the used powder and repeat the process until you can't absorb any more oil.

Orrrrrrr... get some plaster of paris and mix it w/ water until it's the consistency of store-bought peanut butter. For each cup of mixture you make, add one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid.

Slather this mixture over the stain so it's at least 1/2" thick... if you can make it 1" thick, even better. When dry, sweep it away. Repeat as necessary.

Short of one of these suggestions working, you may need to stain the slate to match the "oily" color and then --fer gawd's sake-- SEAL your slate tiles w/ a good slate sealant.

Hope this helps,

    TX Griff

Answer 2

I would cover the stain with kitty litter just like you would any oil stain in the garage - let it sit for a while. If that doesnt take it out try some Dawn dishwashing detergent - its great on oily stains.

Answer 3

Well, given that slate is porous, there probably isn't much you can do. You can try putting corn starch on the stain and covering it with something heavy and let it sit overnight - that MIGHT pull some of the stain out....worth a try as it won't damage it. You just sweep or vacuum the corn starch away.